


A brutal wake-up call

by Aragorn_II_Elessar



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: 'No kill rule' is BS, Gen, Not Team Flash friendly, Oliver is not a serial killer, Post-Crisis On Earth-X Crossover Event (CW DC TV Universe), Reality check, Wake-up call, not barry allen friendly, not for Barry Allen fans, not joe west friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22422658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aragorn_II_Elessar/pseuds/Aragorn_II_Elessar
Summary: Oliver has some harsh words for Barry and the rest of Team Flash. Takes place after Crisis on Earth-X.
Comments: 20
Kudos: 30





	A brutal wake-up call

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Stand_with_Ward_and_Queen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stand_with_Ward_and_Queen/gifts), [Phillipe363](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phillipe363/gifts), [Bl4ckHunter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bl4ckHunter/gifts).



> Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow, Flash or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Had this idea ever since reading the latest chapter of Stand with Ward and Queen's 'Torn between two timelines' and now it's time to finally write it out.
> 
> This takes place after the Earth-X Nazis are defeated but no double wedding crap. Hope everyone enjoys.

STAR Labs, cortex

Barry was talking to Cisco, Caitlin, Iris and Joe about when and where to do the wedding now that the first one had been trashed when an arrow suddenly hit his thigh from behind, making him kneel in pain as he screamed.

Cisco, Caitlin, Iris and Joe gasped in horror as Oliver stepped in. He was wearing casual clothes but had his bow in hand with his quiver strapped to his back.

"What are you doing?" Joe asked angrily as he aimed his gun at Oliver while the others glared. "So you're a psycho serial killer after all, aren't you?"

"What is wrong with you, Oliver?" Cisco asked in shock.

"Dude, at least inform me about training before shooting me!" Barry said exasperated.

Oliver suddenly threw a fletchette, disarming Joe who then backed off as Oliver glared at Barry and said. "This is not training."

He then turned to Joe and said. "I'm not a psycho serial killer. If you have any doubts, ask Quentin Lance who was gunning for me in the first year of my crusade."

He then looked at them all and said. "But considering some stuff you people do, I am very concerned about your mental state."

"What is going on?" Iris asked, looking more shocked than anything as she just stared at Oliver, while not even trying to help Barry who was still on the ground.

"What? Are you gonna comment on how hot I am in front of your fiancé? Because that's what I have seen you since the first time I came here", Oliver snarled at Iris who had the decency to look ashamed.

"Why are you doing this?" Caitlin asked gently.

As Barry staggered up, Oliver moved towards him and grabbing him by the collar, slammed him to the table, shattering the glass as the others backed off in horror.

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!" Oliver exploded on Barry.

"Dude, you're the one shooting at me!" Barry said.

"How could you let him go?" Oliver asked and Barry paled.

"Who?" He asked in a cracking.

"You know damn well who!" Oliver yelled at him before grabbing him by the collar and throwing him to the ground.

"I'm not a killer." Barry said.

"What is he talking about?" Joe asked.

"Thawne." Barry said.

"Oh that", Joe said before turning to Oliver. "Look Queen, just because my boy is pure of heart and can't take a life doesn't mean you have to be jealous of him because you can never be as good as him."

"You think this is jealousy? Seriously?" Oliver asked incredulously. "And are you seriously saying to my face that you have taken a life, Barry?"

"No", Barry said, lying through his teeth.

"Atom Smasher? Sand Demon?" Oliver asked and Barry paled while the others did too. "And you abandoned Zoom to a fate far worse than death. So don't try the moral high ground here."

"Now that he says it that way, the moral high ground looks like what Obi-Wan's high ground looked like", Cisco muttered to Caitlin but she didn't laugh as no one was in the mood for jokes at the moment.

"You're a killer who loves killing so you don't get to judge us", Joe said.

Oliver angrily grabbed Joe by the collar and shoved him to a wall. "I never killed people for pleasure and I am not a serial killer. At the end of my first year, my kill count was barely over 50. If I was the man you think I am, my kill count would be over a 150 by then. Even if I do enjoy killing, then it is because I am ridding my city of scum. Not because I am thrilled by executing wrong-doers."

He let Joe go and said. "Besides, it's still better than that pipeline prison of yours."

Joe looked like he had been punched in the gut as Oliver said. "You lock people up in your prison which has inhumane conditions and yet you call me the monster who judges the guilty when it's you all who are doing it."

He then turned to Barry who was still on the ground and said. "And letting Thawne go wasn't the right thing. It was a coward's move. You don't have the guts to get the job done. Even if you couldn't kill him, you could have just imprisoned him in your prison as he deserves it far more than anyone else you've put in there. Or you could have sent him to the Speed Force like you did to Zoom and Savitar."

"Okay man, you've made your point", Barry groaned as he stood up with the support of a nearby table. "I messed up."

"You didn't just mess up. You let a psychopath get away", Oliver growled. "Now if he comes after any of us, the blood of the innocents he kills is on you as much as it is on him!"

Barry looked down in shame and guilt as Oliver said. "And I have seen how consumed with Iris you have become that you have forgotten who you are and who made you that person."

"What do you mean?" Barry asked as he looked at Oliver.

"I used to think you're better than me. I used to look up to you. You could inspire people in a way I never could", Oliver said to Barry in a sad tone. "But now look at what you've become. You've fallen from the man you used to be. You're nothing like the kind-hearted, selfless man I met all those years ago in the Applied Sciences Division of my company."

Barry winced as he realized how true Oliver was right now and how far he had fallen.

"Your parents would be ashamed of what you've become", Oliver said and Barry looked like he had asked Thawne to murder his mom again. Oliver simply gave him on last withering look and walked out while all of Team Flash, especially Barry and Joe, hung their heads in shame at the brutal wake-up call Oliver had given them all.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's done.
> 
> Honestly, Barry letting Thawne go was one of the stupidest things he has ever done. Even if he wants to feel good about himself, he has this nice pipeline prison where he can throw Thawne or just trap him in the Speed Force.
> 
> Oh! And Oliver being a serial killer with no self-control who enjoys killing is a retcon that happened in the later Seasons. I love Season 5 and it's my 2nd favorite Season, but the BS confession was one of the things I really disliked about it. Oliver was never a serial killer and the way they portrayed him in the 5x9 and 5x17 flashbacks contradicts what we saw in Season 1. Season 1 Oliver would never skin a man alive just for practice or shoot someone who is already down.
> 
> Don't believe me? Go and rewatch the fucking Season. I don't have the time to argue with those who actually listen to Guggenheim's BS.
> 
> And finally, the 'no killing rule' is BS. It doesn't accomplish a thing except making those who follow it feel good about themselves. Even if there are heroes who follow this rule, I'm fine with them as long as they don't condemn those who do kill. Like Daredevil, who doesn't kill himself but has no problem with others doing it nowadays.
> 
> Batman never kills Joker but Joker keeps escaping Arkham Asylum and kills more people. After a certain point, the blood of the innocent is as much on Batman's hands as Joker's.
> 
> And I remember there was an old comic book in which both Superman and Batman had been mind-controlled by a villain and the only way to free them was to kill that villain. Wonder Woman killed that villain, and what do Superman and Batman do? Condemn her for killing. Like seriously, what the fuck is wrong with the two of you? Drank too much moral syrup?
> 
> Even in Smallville, I am partly convinced Oliver's depression in the beginning of Season 9 was because Clark judged him for killing Lex from his moral high chair. And I've seen people on YouTube actually condemning Oliver in that show for killing Lex, in spite of everything Lex has done.
> 
> Stuff like this is why I can't stand the 'no killing rule' nowadays. It seems heroic when you're a kid. But when you grow up, you realize how horrifying the morality in comic books truly is.
> 
> Went off on a rant there. Sorry about that.
> 
> Now I hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another update.


End file.
